Point Loma’s Pointers scored a touchdown against Morse High on Sept. 20 before they had even run an offensive play.

Junior defensive back Jonathan Cook picked off a tipped Tiger pass attempt on the game’s first play from scrimmage and took it to the end zone for a 7-0 Pointer lead just 15 seconds into the non-league match on the Morse turf.

Neither team was able to mount a scoring drive in the first period when the Tigers attempted another pass into the right flat — another big mistake for the Morse offense.

Cook stepped up again, snatching the errant pigskin, using his defensive mates’ blocks as he ran untouched down the left sideline to the end zone for his second touchdown of the game. After the extra-point attempt failed, the Pointers assumed a 13-0 lead with 33 seconds remaining in the first period.

The Pointers went on to record a 26-12 victory over the Tigers — a win that also proved costly when three Point Loma defensive starters went down with injuries.

Two-way standout A.J. Smith suffered a knee injury following injuries to linebacker Tanner Manion and defensive lineman Jake Virissimo earlier. All three were expected to miss at least one game as the Pointers prep for their Western League opener against Kearny (on the Madison High field) Oct. 11.

The first Pointer drive of the second half stalled at the Morse 20-yard line, where Jason Shoemaker put a 37-yard field goal between the uprights for a 16-0 advantage.

Following the ensuing kickoff, a Morse runner swept to the right side and, seeing no openings, reversed his direction to the left before Pointer defender Cole Kidd hauled him down at the one-yard line after a 65-yard gain.

The Pointer defense held the Tigers in a dramatic goal-line stand before taking over.

But, following a lost Pointer fumble at their own 15, the Tigers scored on the next play to pull within 16-6 with 5:27 before halftime.

A second Shoemaker field goal in the third period boosted the lead to 19-6 before the Pointer offense put up its only points of the game.

A 35-yard run to the Tigers’ one-yard line by Jalen Griffin led to a touchdown by Dirk Lacy, who played his first game of the season because of an injury — in the game’s final seconds for the final margin.

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